Story

It wasn't usually the kids.

It was the adults you had to watch out for. They were the ones who were deceitful and grumpy and selfish. The kids were usually just caught up in the mix; confused or scared or lost or all three.

Today wasn't one of those days, the Doctor guessed.

The young boy was standing in the doorway holding out his hand. He wore shorts and a football jersey and looked just like a normal human child, other than his pointy front teeth and red gleaming eyes.

The Doctor groaned. How had he not seen it sooner?

"You can stop this, Cole!" The Doctor shouted. A wind was picking up in the small room. Papers blew around his ankles.

The Doctor looked around and found Clara huddled by the wall, watching Cole unblinkingly.

"Clara, hold on to something!"

She took hold of the nearby drapes as the Doctor grabbed onto the china cabinet. He turned back to Cole. In front of the boy's hand was a glowing sort of light, forming a circle of mist in front of him.

"Cole! We can help you!"

"I don't need your help," the boy said, in a voice too deep to be owned by such a young child. Clara have the Doctor a wild eye. He bit his lip and tried to step forward through the heavy wind.

"Cole, I know you're afraid…"

The Doctor was thrown back, just able to grab onto the cabinet again before he could be thrown across the room. The smoke in front of Cole was growing, a figure appearing.

"Doctor, what is happening?!" Clara shouted over the noise. He kept his eyes on Cole.

"We aren't your enemy, Cole. We're friends."

"I don't have friends," the boy said. His voice seemed smaller now.

Clara's eyes lightened. Her lips curled down and, if the Doctor had been practicing his face-reading skills enough, she looked sad. He gave her a raised eyebrow.

"Let me handle this one," Clara said.

A moment later, a terrible roar came from the figure in the midst, which now revealed itself to be eight feet tall and made of some kind of alien stone. It's eyes glowed red just like Cole's.

"Sure about that?" The Doctor quipped.

"You take the monster, I'll talk to Cole," Clara said.

The Doctor rolled his eyes.

"Right. Okay. Big scary man, you're all mine."

The creature roared again, baring its teeth and claws toward the Doctor.

"See you in a mo', Clara."

The Doctor yanked the Sonic out of his jacket and aimed it at the monster. It seemed to stun the beast, slowing its pace just enough to allow the Doctor to let go of the cabinet and stagger to a better position.

Clara waited until the monster was out of her path, and then approached Cole. The room wasn't quite as windy now, though it wasn't calm. Cabinet doors opened and closed by themselves and the creature still roared in frustration at the Doctor's maneuvering.

Clara gave Cole a tiny smile.

"Hey, I'm Clara."

Cole covered his ears. "I don't need anyone's help."

Clara knelt down.

"I know. I just have a story I want to tell you."

The Doctor looked over the couch he was crouched behind. "Seriously?"

Clara gave him a stern eye. "You fight your monster. I've got this."

She turned back to Cole.

"Once upon a time, there was a little boy who was very lonely."

"Is this story about me? I don't like stories about me." Cole asked, backing away. His eyes were turning a deeper shade of red.

Clara shook her head. "No, no. A different little boy."

She cleared her throat.

"The little boy felt different from everyone else, and though he wasn't ashamed of that, it did make it difficult for him to make friends."

The cabinets stopped banging, Cole's red eyes brightening just a shade or two.

"The boy didn't let any of that hold him back. He followed his dreams and did everything he wanted to do, even if he had to do it alone. And he was very happy."

Cole's eyes were pink now. "What was his dream?"

Clara looked over at the Doctor and smiled. "He wanted to see the universe."

The Doctor paused in his alien fighting for a second, meeting Clara's eyes. She smiled and then turned back to Cole.

"So he did. And along the way, while he followed his own dreams and focused on making himself and everyone around him happy, you know what?"

"What?"

"He made friends. He made lots of friends."

Cole smiled, his eyes fading into white. The creature stopped moving, standing still above the Doctor.

Then his eyes flickered red again.

"What happened next?" He asked.

Clara hesitated. "Er, then The End."

Cole's eyes stayed red. The monster roared again, and batted the Sonic out of the Doctor's hand. Within a moment it had him pinned against the wall.

"Clara!"

She glanced around and bit her lip.

"Er, and then he kept traveling. He never stopped. And he kept making new friends."

"But what happened when his friends went away? My friends all went away."

The monster raised one of its clawed hands, holding the Doctor against the wall with the other. The Doctor shut his eyes.

Clara stammered. "And then...and then."

"The little boy was sad for a while," the Doctor continued. The monster mercifully held back from attacking as he looked at Cole. "Because endings are always sad. But he learned that every ending is also a beginning."

The monster dropped its hand from the Doctor's shoulder. He dusted himself off and straightened his jacket. "And so he kept on traveling and meeting new people and, yes, saying goodbye. But he never let it make him cruel or cowardly. He let it make him kind."

The monster faded into smoke again, returning to Cole's hand. The boy's eyes were clear and white again.

Clara and the Doctor each let out a deep breath.

"Cole?" Clara asked. "Are you alright?"

The boy wiped at his eyes. "I'm sleepy."

Clara carried the boy to a nearby bedroom and laid him down. When she was finished, she returned to the lounge where the Doctor was leaned on the back of the couch.

"Bedtime story: best thing to take down a frightened Tenza," he said.

Clara crossed her arms. "Is that what he is? I just saw a frightened little boy."

He gave her a shy smile. "What made you pick that story?"

She shrugged. "Best story there is, I think."

They each smiled toward the floor. Clara crossed the room and inspected his dirtied jacket. "You okay? That thing had claws like my neighbor's cat."

The Doctor opened his jacket and showed the crisp white shirt underneath. "Didn't become monster food today."

Clara chuckled, and then leaned back on the couch beside him.

"So, er, how did I do?"

The Doctor tilted his head. "Very well, up until the end."

"I've always had a hard time writing endings," she confessed.

The Doctor grit his teeth. "I'm not much better with endings myself."

Clara nudged his shoulder. "What a pair we make, eh?"

The Doctor smiled. "What a pair."